Hey, Mister Sockman, Bring Me a Dream
by The Eye of The Oncoming Storm
Summary: Lorelai and Jason's relationship crashed and burned in the series. Here's an AU where it still crashes and burns, just a little differently. (*EDIT* - takes place during Tick, Tick, Tick, Boom!, after Lorelai gives Jason that plant.)
1. Sock It To Me

_This is actually something that I started writing last year, but I just had so much on my plate that I couldn't give it the attention I thought it needed._

* * *

"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap." Lorelai chanted as she got ready.

She could hear Jason's voice from the kitchen. "I told you that you should've stopped at your place before coming over."

"It was twenty minutes out of my way, and you're not helping!"

"Sorry." He apologized. "Coffee?"

"To go, please. I'm late for work."

"Ah, so that's what the crap commentary was about. Do you want breakfast on the go again? It's not french toast, but I figure waffles would probably work the same way."

"Jason!" Lorelai shouted.

"Sorry, still not helping?"

"Hey, do you mind if I borrow a pair of socks?"

"That's fine. You know where they are?"

"I think so." Lorelai went to his dresser and started opening the drawers, and after a few tries, located his sock drawer, pulled out a pair, and sat down on the bed to put them on. But when she actually looked at the socks, she froze.

 _White with a gold stripe, and some kind of fruity padding in the toe._

She tried to dismiss it. How many guys must have these socks? Hundreds. Thousands, possibly. This had to be a coincidence.

Biting her lip pensively, she thought about something Luke had said in anger that night.

 _What, did you take my socks too?_

Lorelai slowly pulled on her shoes and went back over the the sock drawer. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. Any other time, any other guy, she wouldn't have thought twice about it.

The one pair that didn't match.

All white.  
Red stripe.  
No padding.

Jason came back in the room, and Lorelai instinctively grabbed the odd pair of socks, hiding them, and shut the drawer.

"Find what you needed?" Jason asked.

Lorelai's voice was strained, though Jason didn't seemed to notice. "Yup. Found exactly what I was looking for."

"Okay, well, I have to go. Your breakfast is in the fridge if you want it." He picked up his keys and his wallet and slipped them into his pockets. "Can you lock up on your way out?"

"Uh, sure." Lorelai said, still processing what she'd discovered. "Just, uh, one thing, before you go."

Jason turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

"Um…" She looked down at the balled up pair of socks in her hands, and held them up. "Uh, why do you- I mean, did you know that you had one pair of socks that don't match the others?"

"Really?" Jason asked. "You sure they're not yours?"

"They're mens socks. How did you end up with another man's socks?"

"I don't know, I didn't even know they were different." Jason shrugged. "Why is it important?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Jason, I'm gonna ask you a question and I need you answer it honestly."

"When haven't I been honest with you?"

"Jason."

He gave in. "Alright, I'll be honest, I promise."

"Have you dated anybody else since we started going out?" Lorelai asked. "Anybody at all that I don't know about."

"You mean other than Crystal?"

"Yes, other than _Crystal_."

"No."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "Really? Not even once? Coffee date, drinks after work, dancing at the club?"

Jason opened his mouth, then hesitated.

Lorelai felt her heart drop into her stomach, and she prompted him. "Jason?"

"Well," He said slowly. "In the interest of full disclosure, I did meet one woman."

"Oh. Uh… When?" Lorelai asked.

Jason, at least, had the decency to look nervous. "It- it was, uh… a few… weeks ago."

"You… yo-ou went out… with someone else, while we were dating." Lorelai said incredulously. "Did you sleep with her?"

"Well… yeah."

"I can't believe this." Lorelai walked out of the room, and started gathering her stuff from the guest room. "I can't believe that you dated someone else."

"I wasn't dating her!" Jason defended himself.

"You slept with her!" Lorelai shouted. She headed for the door and he followed her, talking.

"It was just sex, and it was before we were totally committed to each other, way before I ever gave you your own key to my apartment."

"Just sex." Lorelai repeated flatly.

Jason nodded. "Yes. And it was just the one time. And I didn't feel good about it afterward. To be honest, Lorelai, it was part of what made me realize I cared about you too much to screw this up."

"Well, too late."

"Wait, Lorelai-"

She started shaking her head slowly and held her hands up. "I can't- I can't stay here."

"Lorelai!" Jason called after her.

She ignored him, and walked out of his apartment. She walked out of the building and to her car. Before she knew it, she was on the highway. She found herself walking up to the diner without remembering how she got there, not even remembering where she parked her car, and sat on the stool at the far end of the counter, away from anybody else.

Luke walked up to her, holding a coffee pot, trying to get her attention. "Coffee?"

She just continued to stared at the counter, and Luke frowned. "Lorelai?"

"I'm not wearing my socks." Lorelai whispered.

He saw her jaw shake, as if she were trying not to cry. He set the coffee down and leaned toward her, talking quietly. "Lorelai, what's wrong?"

"I'm not wearing my own socks."

He frowned at her. It took him a few moments to make the connection.

 _I'm not wearing my socks._

 _I'm not wearing_ my own _socks._

 _Oh._

By the time it hit him, a few of Lorelai's tears had landed on the counter. He glanced around the diner. No one would miss him for a few minutes. He took her by the elbow and directed her towards the stairs. "Go upstairs, I'll be with you in a minute."

"But, the diner-" She tried.

"Will be fine." He assured her. "Just go."

He sent her upstairs with a gentle push and went back to the counter, where he poured a cup of coffee and cut an extra large slice of pie. He didn't want to announce the the entire diner that something was wrong, so instead of shouting, he poked his head in the kitchen and told Caesar that he was going upstairs. Luke carried the coffee and pie upstairs into his apartment. Lorelai had taken a seat at the table. He set his offerings next to her and sat down across from her, waiting for her to speak.

"I found your socks." Lorelai said suddenly.

Luke was once again confused. "What?"

Lorelai reached into her purse and pulled out the pair of socks she had stolen from Jason's dresser and handed them to Luke. He just stared at them.

"They are yours, right?"

Luke's jaw hung open. "H-how-?"

"Jason. My boyfriend. My _ex_ -boyfriend, he had them. Didn't even realize they weren't his socks until I pointed it out." Lorelai got up and started pacing. "Then he told me he'd slept with someone else."

Luke's face tensed. "He did?"

"Yeah." Lorelai said sharply. "Then he tried to say that it wasn't serious. It was a _one time_ thing. That is was fine because he hadn't been totally committed to our relationship at the time."

Luke was too angry to even speak. He took several deep breaths before he could bring himself to look up from the table. When he did, he looked at Lorelai. She was standing still now, hugging herself and clearly trying not to cry.

He remembered how much it had stung when he'd found out Nicole had cheated on him. After everything, _she'd_ been the one who wanted to keep trying. She'd wanted them _both_ to keep trying. Then to turn around, turn to someone else…

And here, Lorelai was actually in love with the guy!

"C'mere." He took a few steps toward Lorelai, placing a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into another hug. Lorelai leaned forward and could no longer hold back her emotions. Luke held her as she cried.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be here." She finally said. "I don't even know why I'm here, I just…"

"I know." Luke said. "I know. It's not a good feeling when a relationship doesn't work out. With Nicole and I, we just... Well anyway, you know what happened. It still sucks."

Lorelai forced out a breath. "I…I'm fine. It wasn't like it was gonna be a forever thing anyway. Well, I mean… yeah, you're right it sucks to admit that it- it's over. But, god, why did it have to be _her_!"

Luke frowned. _Wait, her? Meaning Nicole? What about her?_

Lorelai noticed the look on his face, misinterpreting it. "Luke, I am so sorry just show up like this, with the socks and the crying… I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, but I mean, you told me the other night that it's over with you and Nicole and I just come over here and dump all over you with this news and my own sucky relationship-"

"Lorelai." Luke said firmly. "I'm glad you told me. At least now I can stop wondering who the sock guy is."

Lorelai nodded and laughed a little despite the lingering tears. "True."

Luke was glad to see that she was feeling a little better. At least for now. "And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry too."

"Well, thank you, that means a- Oh god." Lorelai rifled through her purse and pulled out her phone. "I was supposed to be at the inn. No!"

"What?"

"My phone _would_ have to be dead. God, why does everything have to suck today!"

"Use my phone. I'll be downstairs."

"Thank you." Lorelai dialed, and Luke overheard her as he headed back down to the diner. "Hey, Sookie. No, I'm fine, just... had to make a stop on the way. What's up?"

* * *

 _I don't know when the second chapter will be up. Hopefully, before another year comes around._

 _The title is from the Mister Sandman song. I don't know how well people know the song, or if people would even connect the song lyrics, because even I think it's a little bit of a stretch, but it's the best I could come up with. For most of the last year, it's just been titled "Sockman". I thought this was preferable._


	2. Holey Matrimony

_This was meant to be a one-shot. A fun little one-shot that got Luke and Lorelai together faster. Now, it's ballooned into at least three chapters. Maybe four._

 _I just can't keep things simple, can I?_

* * *

Later that week on Friday night, Lorelai found herself sitting on her couch at home. She felt bad for making Rory go to dinner by herself, but she couldn't face Jason right now. Or her parents. Or anyone, for that matter. Not even the pizza guy, so she told them that she would leave money for Joe in an envelope taped to the door and he could leave the pizza on the porch. No one but Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw (and the monkey lamp) would be witness to her heartbreak. So when she heard someone knocking on the door, she ignored it.

They knocked again.

And again.

After the fourth time, she yelled at them. "Joe, I told you just to leave the pizza!"

"Lorelai?"

She frowned. "Luke?"

"Yeah, it's me, will you let me in? It's cold out here."

"What the hell are you doing here?" She let him in and quickly shut the door to keep out the cold.

"Well, I know that you usually have dinner with your parents on fridays, but Babette came in at little earlier and said that you seemed a little... short tempered."

Lorelai winced. "Yeah. I- I guess I was. She was asking about- well, my now ex boyfriend, and I just... really didn't want to even think about him, and I think I was a little hard on her."

"Yeah, she- she mentioned something about that." He said. "Well, anyway, she said that you hadn't left for dinner with your parents. And she seemed kinda worried about you, so I thought I'd sorta... check in."

"Well, thanks."

"So how are you? You know, with..." He gestured vaguely. "Everything?"

"Oh, well, I'm just peachy." Lorelai smiled. He knew that smile, the pretending one. He played along.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Lorelai nodded. "Don't I look it?"

"You look like you're all dolled up for a night on the town."

Her expression dropped to a far more believable one, somber and tired. "I just didn't feel up to going out tonight. But thank you, you know, for, checking on me. With gifts?"

"Huh?"

She pointed at the bags he was carrying.

"Oh, right. Well, I was just thinking that you might like some company and maybe some dinner since you weren't going out. So I brought some food."

"I kinda ordered pizza already." She confessed.

The disappointment that momentarily flashed across his face was not missed by her.

"Oh. Okay. Well, you can always heat this stuff up later, if you want. I'll just..." He jabbed a thumb in the general direction of the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, thanks." Lorelai said. She stayed in the foyer, nervously fiddling with the hem of her shirt. The disappointment that she saw reminded her of the time she nearly canceled thanksgiving dinner with him. _  
_

 _He_ likes _spending time with you. And you crushed him. Good going, Cindy Lou._

She debated whether or not to let him stay. She would have turned anyone else away in a heartbeat. She had planned to stay at home along tonight and revel in the protection it offered. At home, she didn't have to pretend that she was fine. At home, she didn't need to watch sad movies as an excuse to cry (she did watch them anyway however. She was movie girl, after all).

But Luke, though. Luke knew her. He knew what had happened. And he was there. He checked in on her, because he cared about her.

Hanging out with Luke started to sound good.

Really good.

Suddenly, she didn't want to be alone anymore.

Luke came back through the hallway from the kitchen. As he passed her, she spoke up.

"Stay."

Luke wasn't sure that he'd heard her right. "What?"

"You can stay." She repeated. "If you want."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

She could read his face well enough, and was relieved to see a small smile tug at his features.

"Okay then." He said. "I'll stay."

They stood in the foyer for a few minutes more, unsure of what to do next. Lorelai realized that they had never just hung out beyond the purview of the diner. Even the one time he'd had come over to watch a movie with her, there was a built in activity, a theme, a subject. But tonight, there was no plan. A glance at Luke indicated that he was just as lost for what to do as she was.

"Sooo..." Lorelai said awkwardly. "You want a beer or... something?"

Luke let out a relieved sigh. "A beer would be good."

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Awhile later, they were settled on the couch with a couple beers and plates of food, both pretending like they were watching tv and not thinking about their respective exes or the burning personal questions that weighed on their minds. They tried to talk about the show or their work, or the town, but every conversation faded away after three sentences. Luke was the first one who managed to break through the facade.

"I signed my divorce papers today."

"Oh" was all Lorelai could think to say.

"I faxed them to her office, she should them them by now."

She gave him a empathetic look. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "S'okay. It was a mistake to get married in the first place."

"Still, I'm sorry."

He smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks."

They lapsed into a slightly more comfortable silence, but there was still something that nagged at him. A question, fairly natural to ask really, but so specific.

 _God, why did it have to be_ her _!_

Luke glanced over at Lorelai. She was biting on the inside of her cheek, eyes trained on the tv. The words, "driven to distraction" came to mind.

"Hey Lorelai?"

When she realized that Luke was looking at her, she schooled her features too look less anxious. "Yeah?"

"What did you mean when you said "why'd it have to be her"?"

She answered him with furrowed brows. "What?"

"The other day, when you come to to the diner and-"

"Had a meltdown."

"It was _not_ a meltdown." He insisted.

"Oh, it was no "Meltdown in the Park"," Lorelai quipped. "It was Meltdown, Part Two, The Secret Life of Socks. Not quite the box office hit the first movie was, but it wraps up all the loose ends and has a small but dedicated following."

"Can I just finish what I was saying, please?"

"Oh, sorry." She turned toward him, giving him her undivided attention. "Continue."

"Anyway," Luke started again, "They other day, when you were upset about what happened with your boyfriend, you said something along the lines of "why did it have to be her?" What did you mean?"

Lorelai shook her head dismissively. "Nothing, it means nothing."

"It seemed pretty important at the time." Luke insisted.

"It's _not_ important. Can we just watch, please?" She gestured at the tv.

Luke sighed. "Fine."

They both settled back and focused on the movie once more. Sort of.

"What are we watching again?" Luke asked.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "For the _third_ time..."

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They watched for a while longer before Luke noticed Lorelai starting to get antsy. That usually meant that she had something to say.

He knew the signs. She crossed her arms, then uncrossed them. And crossed them again, and started drumming her fingers on her arm. Luke shot her a side-long glance but said nothing. She sighed, and started bouncing her leg. This continued for several minutes, until Luke could handle no more.

"Will you quit doin' that?" He barked.

Her leg stopped bouncing. "Huh?"

"Can you just sit still and watch the show?"

"Fine, Mr. Crankypants." She muttered.

Several peaceful moments passed.

Then her leg started bouncing again. Luke grabbed the remote and muted the tv. Lorelai sat forward, affronted that he would mute one of her favorite break-up movies.

"What was that for?"

"You've clearly got something you wanna say, so say it and I'll unmute the tv."

"I'm seriously bugging you that much?" She asked.

"Yeah, you are. What is it?"

Lorelai chewed her lip contemplatively for a few seconds. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Can't guarantee I'll answer."

"Why did you get married to Nicole in the first place?"

He shrugged. "I told you, we were drunk. I proposed, I think. The captain married us. Simple."

Lorelai shook her head decisively. "That's _how_ you got married. I wanna know why."

Luke snorted. "That's personal."

"So was your question." She shot back.

"It was a question about something you said, not some random thing."

"It was not random! You were just talking about your divorce! I thought it was an open subject!"

"Yeah, well, same goes for you."

"What!"

"You came to the diner, and told me your boyfriend cheated on you. I just asked a question about something you said when you told me!"

"And I've been on this entire marriage roller coaster practically from the beginning." Lorelai shot back.

They sat staring at each other, challenging the other to back down first.

"You really want to know?" Lorelai asked.

"I really want to know." Luke stated. "How badly do you wanna know why I got married?"

"I-" Lorelai tried to think of a funny answer, but couldn't. "I wanna know."

"So if I tell you, you'd tell me." Luke confirmed.

"I... guess." Lorelai conceded.

After several more moments of silence, he sighed. "Fine."

Lorelai sat forward, anxious to hear the answer. "Yeah?"

"Okay, the first thing you need to know-" Luke frowned, trying to find the right words. "You see, the thing is..."

"Yeah?" Lorelai prompted.

"The thing is..." Luke started again. "The thing is, I don't know why I'm going first."

"I asked first."

"You did not!"

"Did so!"

"Didn't."

"Didn't you!"

He glared at her. "You make me want a drink."

"Oh, duh! That would make this all a _lot_ easier." Lorelai got up and headed to the kitchen. "What's your poison? I've got tequila, rum. I think I've even got some really nice brandy Sookie got me from a few years ago. Or I could run over to Doose's and get some more beer."

"Seriously?" Luke asked.

"Well, I'm not planning on going anywhere tonight, you?" Lorelai said. "Besides, this is something friends do, right? Have a drink? Chill, Hang out? Not that we have a whole lot of hanging out experience but I wouldn't say we're doing too bad, right?"

Luke smiled. "Right."

"So what do you want?"

"Whatever you've got is fine."

"Tequila?"

"Sure."

Lorelai came back with a bottle and a couple shot glasses.

"I feel like we should toast or something." Luke said while she poured.

"Okay, uh..." She thought a moment, and lifted one of the glasses. "To... liquid honesty?"

He chuckled. "That'll work."

* * *

 _You guys know any good puns about socks? I'm looking for inspiration here._

 _Not sure about the ending, but I am so done editing this chapter. Just... so done._


	3. Knit Me Again

_I apologize for the punfortunate title._

 _I take full blame/credit._

* * *

An hour, a half, and several shots later, a tipsy Luke and a slightly tipsier Lorelai sat on opposite ends of the couch. Lorelai was cross-legged, facing Luke, who was turned toward her, stretching one arm across the back of the couch. The still muted television was forgotten and playing in the background, casting strange light around the semi-darkened room.

"No!" Lorelai gasped in between laughs.

Luke nodded. "Yes."

"And nobody noticed."

"Well, I think Miss Patty eventually figured it out, but she never said anything about it, and we weren't stupid so we kept our mouths shut."

"Well, now I see where Jess got his rebellious streak."

"Oh, now, hold on there." Luke held up his hand. "All the pranks that Jess pulled were _way_ over the top. And he had no sense of discretion. You can't just pull whatever pranks ya think of, you've got to wait for the right moment."

"I see." Lorelai nodded, and poured them each another shot. She grinned as Luke continued his rant.

"And the right _target_. You can't just pull a prank on anyone, it's like karma. You wait until they've done something to deserve it, and then you go after them. There's a reason Taylor was the main recipient of our pranks and Mrs. Cassini wasn't."

"Well, Taylor I can understand. He's Taylor. But Mayor Harry? He was so sweet!"

"He was full of himself! He'd rather think of himself as the governor of Stars Hollow rather than just the Mayor. But I definitely preferred him to Taylor."

"Me too." Lorelai picked up one the glasses in a toast. "To Mayor Harry Porter, may God rest his soul."

"To Harry." Luke said and tipped back his drink. Lorelai did the same.

Luke looked at the glass. "Was that three or four?"

"Uh, three, I think. Feels like three at least." She set her shot glass down on the coffee table and looked at him. "Okay, you finally drunk enough to talk?"

Luke heaved a big sigh of resignation. "Alright, fine. Ask your questions."

"Why did you get married to Nicole?" Lorelai asked plainly. "I mean, you don't seem that broken up about the divorce, no offense."

"None taken." Luke assured her. "I don't know, I needed... I think part of it was that I needed to prove that I _could_ have a relationship, a stable one. But I guess..."

"What?"

Luke rolled his glass between his hands thoughtfully. "Mostly I think I just needed to move on."

"Move on from who? From..." She tried to think of the last relationship of Luke's that she knew about. "From Rachel?"

He gave her a confused stare. "Why would you bring up Rachel?"

"Well, I don't know, she's the last girl that I know you dated, unless you've been hitting up the clubs in Hartford."

Luke shook his head and looked away again. "Nah, it wasn't Rachel. It was... someone else. A friend."

"A friend?" Lorelai repeated. "So, this friend... a girl, i assume?"

"Of course it's a girl." Luke scoffed. "A woman. Who... who I want as more than a friend. A girlfriend."

"Oh." Lorelai swallowed at the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, but alcohol and curiosity spurred forward her questions. "So, did you guys date a long time ago, did it not work out, or... what happened?"

"Nothing happened, we just... we never seem to be in the same place, you know?" He leaned forward to set his shot glass on the coffee table. "I mean, I like her, she seems to like me, or at least tolerate me. But we're never... there's always..."

"There's always something." Lorelai finished.

Luke sighed, leaning further forward and letting his elbows rest on his knees. "Yeah."

Ironic, she thought, given that the same thing had happened to her and Luke.

"Sucks." She commented sadly.

"It does." He agreed. "Anyway, that whole cruise was a mistake. I should've listened to you, about the trip."

"What? No, Luke, we've had this discussion before-"

"Not _you_ you." Luke corrected. "Dream you."

Lorelai blinked at him. "Dream who?"

Luke sighed and looked up at her. "Remember the last time I saw you before the cruise, after Rory's graduation?"

"Yeah."

"I came home, feel asleep in a chair and had a dream about you."

"About me?" She grinned wickedly. "Was it dirty?"

"No, it was not." Luke shot back. "I was in the diner, wiping down a table, then you came into the diner and you told me not to get engaged."

"Dream me told you that?"

Luke nodded again.

"Damn." She muttered. "Dream me had a lot more guts than real life me."

Her statement caught Luke by surprise. He sat back up and looked at her. "So, you didn't want me to go?"

"I… well, no." Lorelai admitted. "It felt… wrong. But I had no right to tell you what to do. I wanted to."

"Why didn't you? When I asked if you thought if I should go on that cruise, I thought maybe you didn't want me to go. That's why I asked you." Luke leaned against the back of the couch once more, gesturing to her. "Why didn't you stop me?"

"I just wanted you to be happy. I thought you liked her. _Loved_ her." Lorelai emphasized. "A person doesn't think about going on a cruise with someone else if they don't care about them. Except for you, apparently."

"We seem to talking a lot about me, actually." Luke realized.

"Hey, that _was_ the deal."

"No, the deal was that you ask your nosy questions about my marriage , and you tell me what you've got against Nicole."

Lorelai was indignant. "I don't have anything against Nicole!"

Luke shot her a look. "Your boyfriend cheated on you, and your only real complaint was that it had to be _her_."

She frowned. "Oh. Right."

"So?" Luke prompted.

"Ugh. Fine." Lorelai readjusted her position on the couch, ending up sitting closer to Luke. "What's the question you asked before?"

"Why did you say "why'd it have to be her" when you found out your boyfriend was cheating on you?"

"Cheated, tense past." She frowned. "Strike it, reverse that."

"Same question."

She sighed moodily and crossed her arms, leaning against Luke's arm where it rested along the back of the couch. "I said it because... She's just..."

Luke started rubbing her shoulder absent-mindedly. "Yeah?"

"I mean, she dated you, and you guys got married, and then almost got divorced, and then started dating _again."_

"Another mistake." Luke muttered. Lorelai continued as if he hadn't said anything.

"And I just... You know, I just... She put you through all _that_ crap, and I'm your friend so I felt bad for you. So it was you and her, and _then_ , her and Jason." Lorelai sighed and let her head loll toward him with a tired expression on her face. "I'm just really, really sick of hearing about her, you know?"

Luke wracked his brain trying to figure out what his friend meant by what she said "So... you don't like her cause she dated me, then cheated on me with your boyfriend?"

"I... think?" Lorelai frowned, and massaged her temples. "I don't know. Head's all fuzzy. Maybe I just hate her."

"It's hard to imagine you hating anybody." Luke said quietly.

Lorelai was lost in thought for a moment.

"Hey, Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"What _actually_ happened the night you decided to get married? Like, how did you end up popping the question? At least, I assume it was you."

Luke pulled away from her, uncomfortable about the question.

"I don't know exactly. I was drunk, we were both drunk. Not sure if _she_ remembers."

"You can't remember anything?"

Luke frowned, pretending to be lost in thought. He remembered, of course he remembered. Enough to know that he didn't _want_ to remember.

"I don't know exactly." He stared slowly. "We were talking, and drinking, and I was thinking a lot. And the next thing I know, we were talking to steward who called the captain and... then we got married."

"You were _thinkin_ ' a lot, huh?" Lorelai asked pointedly. "Were you thinking about that girl you liked? Your "friend"?"

He glared at her. "That's a little personal, don't you think?"

His tone was sharp. But Lorelai either didn't hear it or didn't care.

"Hello, that's what this whole thing was about!" She reminded him. "The plan was to get drunk, ask each other personal questions and get emotionally butt-naked."

Luke groaned, embarrassed by the image that was conjured by her last statement. It took a moment for Lorelai to realize what she'd actually said.

Once she did, she started giggling uncontrollably at his reaction.

"You thought about something dirty, didn't you?"

He shook his head, biting back a smile. "I am really regretting my decision to stay."

"I'm so proud of you." She patted his knee. "That's a sign that there's hope for you to become a normal, non-mountain man person."

Luke laughed, in spite of himself. "The only thing it's a sign of is that you and me and tequila don't mix."

"Come on, you know I can annoy the answer out of you." Lorelai started poking him in the side. "Were you thinking about a girl, Luke?"

"Stop it." Luke tried to wave her hand away.

"Were ya? Were ya? Were ya? Were ya?"

She kept on, and Luke tried not to react, knowing that it would only encourage her. He grabbed the remote and turned the volume back on, trying to drown out the memories of That Night, on the ill-fated cruise, that Lorelai seemed determined to dredge up.

 _Standing by the bar, waiting for him. Brown hair, short dress, tall heels._

"Luke."

 _A few too much to drink. Talking, dancing, standing way too close._

"I'm not gonna stop just cause you're ignoring me."

 _Running his fingers through her hair when he held her close. When did she cut her hair so short?_

"Luke."

 _Then remembering. It wasn't Her._

"I run on stubborn and caffeine, Luke, you can't out stubborn me."

 _She was thousands of miles away, in Europe._

"Luke!"

 _And even if she wasn't, what difference would it make, she didn't want him. She'd never want him._

"Lu-uke!" Lorelai sing-songed, and started poking his baseball cap, which he still wore. "Were you think-"

He swatted her hand away and answered the question without pausing to filter the answer.

"Yes, I was thinking about you, okay!?"


	4. Shell-Socked

_Lorelai had to know the answer. Her curiosity burned hotter that the tequila that fueled it. She started poking him in the side._

 _"Were you thinking about a girl, Luke?" She kept poking him, starting to appreciate the soft flannel of his shirt. So, so soft. No wonder he wore it all the time._

 _"Stop it." Luke tried to brush her hand away._

 _Lorelai grinned and_ _switched tactics. She was going to wear him down with sheer words._

 _"Were ya? Were ya? Were ya? Were ya? Luke._ _I'm not gonna stop just cause you're ignoring me._ _Luke."_

 _He just kept staring at the television._

 _She frowned. Luke was stubborn._

 _Well, so was she.  
_

 _"I run on stubborn and caffeine, Luke. You can't out stubborn me." She was starting to become impatient, and sighed moodily._ _"Luke!"_

 _Then her eyes flicked up to his baseball cap, and she grinned again, an impish gleam in her eyes._

 _"Lu-uke!" Lorelai sing-songed, and started slowly pushing his hat off his head. "Were you think-"_

 _He swatted her hand away, causing his hat to fall off somewhere behind the couch. Which Lorelai didn't notice because she was too shocked by Luke's answer._

* * *

A moment later, looking at the stunned expression on Lorelai's face made Luke realize what he'd actually said out loud.

"Shit." He shot up from the couch, wavering a little from the drinks. Lorelai remained sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead as if he hadn't moved.

"This was a stupid idea." He muttered as headed for the door.

As Luke moved past her, she sprang up from the couch and started to follow him.

"Wait!" Lorelai called, trying to stop him from leaving. But her shin caught the edge of the coffee table and she tripped, letting out an audible gasp. Luke turned just in time to see her fall to the floor.

"Lorelai!" Luke was next to her in a second, concern etched into his face. He reached out to help steady her as she sat up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She rubbed her bruised shin. "I might be a tiny bit drunker than I thought I was."

"But you're okay?" He checked.

"I'm..." She looked over at him, and the pace of her breathing quickened. "I'm fine."

He realized how close they now were, he let go of her and stood. "I- I- I have to go."

"No, Luke, wait, please." Lorelai insisted, scrambling to her feet.

He kept heading for the door, as if he hadn't heard her.

"Luke, stop!" She raced him to the door, taking hold of his shirt. "No, Luke, we need to talk about this!"

"Why?"

"Cause if we don't talk about it now, we never will. So..." Lorelai swallowed nervously. "Let's talk."

Luke stared at her, trying to figure out what else to say, but her proximity and his alcohol-induced haze made it difficult to think. He tried to push her away gently, and became aware that she had a death-grip on his shirt.

"Lorelai." He tried to keep his voice gentle and quiet, but it came out as a low soft growl. "Let me go."

"No, Luke." She insisted. "I need... I need to know why you were thinking about me that night."

"Lorelai, I've already embarrassed us both enough tonight."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, no you didn't. I just want to know why you were... you were thinking about me that night. On the night you got married to some other woman."

Luke swallowed, and shook his head. "Lorelai..."

" I need to know, Luke. Why?"

"You... I already told you." His words were whispers, barely more than breath.

She just looked at him desperately, needing more answers.

"My... my friend." He mumbled. "You... The woman I- I was..."

"Was..." Lorelai asked in a whisper, half to herself. "Was _I_ the friend?"

His breathing was heavy now. He wouldn't lie to her, and he couldn't tell her the truth.

"Luke?"

He'd lived with it for too long, not talking about it, and now that he _wanted_ to say the words, he froze.

"Was I the friend you wanted... _more_... with?" She asked again, more urgently.

"Lorelai, I can't..." He started to say. "I'm..."

He couldn't find the words to say. His hands let go of her waist and stroked her arms soothingly, trying to console her while he tried to think of what to say.

After a while, Lorelai's grip on his shirt gradually loosened, and she flattened her palms against his chest. He relaxed. Maybe she understood now, what he'd _meant_ to say...

"Okay." She said softly. "It's okay. I... I get it. It wasn't me."

He frowned. That wasnt what he was thinking at all. He realized that she wasn't looking at him anymore. She had closed her eyes, and started to pull away from him. He clung to her. "Wait, Lorelai-"

"I get it." She tried to assure him. "I really do. Even if it _was_ me you were thinking of that night, I'm not... I'm not the woman you're in love with but, god, I wish I was."

"Lorelai, no, you don't understand-"

"No, Luke, it's... it's better this way." She sniffed, and tears fell from her eyes. "You should go before one of us does something _really_ stupid."

"No-"

"I don't want to-!" She started out shouting, but toned it down. "I don't want to be another Nicole. Luke, just... please go. Go find your friend, tell her... Just tell her. Just go."

Luke gave up on finding words, and instead, he reached out to pull her closer to him again. He curled his hand around the back of her head, burying his fingers into her hair and pulled her lips towards his, to say words only his heart could speak. She kissed him back for a moment, but pulled away.

"Luke, we're friends." Lorelai turned up her eyes at him, brimming with unshed tears. "I can't... I can't do this."

Luke tried to kiss her again, but her gentle hand on his chest restrained him.

"Luke, please, just listen for a second!" She pleaded. "I can't... we can't do this, not when there's someone else! Not again. It wouldn't be fair to anyone. And please, please don't kiss me again, because I don't think I could stop myself from kissing you again if you did."

"Lorelai-"

"Luke! Are you even listening to me? I don't want to be another mistake."

Luke growled frustratedly and kissed her hungrily. Again Lorelai kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, and allowing him to drag his hands up and down her sides, til they came to rest just below her bust, and his thumbs caressed her ribs through her shirt. They broke apart again, gasping for a breath they didn't share.

"You could _never_ be a mistake." Luke said earnestly.

"Luke, please..." Lorelai said. "Don't kiss me like that again, if we can't- If there's not a chance-"

Her words stopped there, but her meaning was clear. He kissed her again briefly, them rested his cheek on hers. Somewhere, in the last several passionate minutes, the words came to him, and he couldn't get them out fast enough. He growled low in her ear.

"Lorelai, do you know how many times I've woken up from dreaming about you?"

Lorelai's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Luke grinned, and looped his fingers through her beltloops, pulling her whole body closer to him.

"How many times I wished that we could do all the things that you've _implied_ over the years?"

"Years?" Lorelai said, her voice a tense whisper.

" _Years_." Luke confirmed, and ducked his head to kiss her, on her jaw, just below her ear.

"You- oh. Oh!" She exclaimed as he placed another kiss, lower, on her neck. "So I... _was_ the girl. The friend. The... woman, that you wanted..."

Luke took a deep breath and straightened up, looking her in the eyes. "Lorelai, you are the _only_ woman I want."

He let Lorelai absorb this information for a minute.

"I..." She looked up at him, finally understanding. "Really? Years?"

He nodded. She closed her eyes, her arms finding a comfortable rest around his waist.

"We're both idiots." She observed.

"Probably."

She opened her eyes, speaking normally this time.

"Luke... I'd really like to kiss you again."

He didn't hesitate, and they both sank into the kiss happily. Lorelai secured Luke's hands on her waist, and walked backwards towards the couch, tugging him along. He followed her, curling his thumbs over the top of her jeans and caressing her bare skin.

They didn't hear anyone outside until the front door opened.

"Mom, I think we need t- _oh my god_!"

Luke and Lorelai stepped away from each other as Rory came into the house and instinctively covered her eyes.

Lorelai tugged her shirt back down. "Hey, honey. How was dinner?"

"Dinner was fine." Rory kept a hand clamped over her eyes. "How was your evening?"

"It was fine." Lorelai quickly. "What are you doing here, hon? I thought you had to go back to school, you had a paper or something. And, why are you still covering your eyes?"

"I came here to study for my paper cause i thought it'd be quieter." Rory explained. "And I'm still covering my eyes until I'm sure that everything is... well, all buttoned and zipped."

"Well, you're safe, we didn't get that far yet."

"Lorelai!" Luke hissed.

"Oh, jeez!" Rory groaned, but lowered her hand anyway. "Hi, Luke."

He waved stupidly. "Hey, Rory."

The awkwardness from earlier that evening was back in full force.

"Um, mom?" Rory asked. "Can we talk?"

"Sure, um, Luke, do you mind? We're just gonna..."

"No, it's fine, I'll be out here."

"Okay, good. We'll be back." Lorelai steered Rory through the kitchen into her bedroom. "Okay, we are going to talk."

"Right, so, I wasn't imagining thing back there, right?" Rory asked.

"No you weren't."

"So, you _were_ kissing Luke?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Yes, I was."

"You were kissing _Luke_?!" Rory whispered harshly. "What about Jason?"

"Jason and I broke up."

Rory's eyes grew large and sympathetic. "Oh, mom."

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"I-" She sighed and sat on Rory's bed. "I stayed over at Jason's apartment the other night, and I found a pair of sock that weren't his."

"Okay..."

"They were Luke's."

Rory frowned. "Why were Luke's socks..."

"Jason accidentally stole them."

"How did- When?"

"When he slept with Nicole."

"Nicole?" Rory was shocked. "Luke's _wife_ Nicole?"

"Ex-wife."

"Jason slept with Luke's ex-wife." Rory repeated. "Wait, when did they get divorced?"

"Today."

"Oh, poor Luke." Rory sat on the bed and hugged her mother. "Poor you."

"I'll be fine. We both will be."

"Well, clearly."

"So, uh, what about you, kid? How was dinner."

Rory sighed tiredly. "Not great."

"Dinner was bad?"

"No, the dinner was fine, just awkward. Jason's parents were there, and-"

"Oh my god." Lorelai gasped and covered her mouth. "Ooh, my god. I forgot. I'm so sorry."

Rory waved it off. "It was fine. They were nice enough. Jason was a basketcase, though. He was hiding it pretty well, but I could see the signs. Plus, he left like three times during dinner. I think he was trying to call you."

"Yeah, he's been trying to get in touch with me all day." Lorelai admitted. "Sookie said he even called the inn. I just unplugged the phone and left my cell on silent."

"Well, what if something happened and I needed to get in touch with you?" Rory asked.

"Then at least you would know to call someone else if you couldn't get me on phone." Lorelai said. "I knew that if something came up, you'd call Babette or Luke or Sookie, and they'd come and get me."

"True." Rory sighed, and looked at her mom. "So. You and Luke, huh?"

"Yep." Lorelai nodded. "Me and Luke."

"So how long has _that_ been going on?"

"Since about ten minutes before you came home."

"Wow."

"Yeah, same reaction."

"And does this have anything to do with the fact that you smell like tequila?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And you're okay with this?"

"Yup."

"So you're not gonna wake up tomorrow and regret kissing Luke?"

Lorelai grinned. "Nuh-uh."

"Good." Rory stood up. "Guess I'll do my studying back at Yale then."

"No, Rory, this is your house too. You should feel welcome here no matter who I'm dating." Lorelai insisted.

"Yeah, but you and Luke-"

"Have a lot to figure out before we start doing anything that makes me want to kick you out." She said, and Rory frowned. Lorelai rushed to explain. "Not that I would! I stand by what I said. I would just _want_ to kick you out, I wouldn't actually do it."

"Are you sure?" Rory checked. "Cause I have a feeling that Luke's not going to feel the same way."

"Honey, it's Luke." Lorelai said. "The man took... god, I don't know how many years to tell me he even _liked_ me. I don't think that he'd be the type to just take me upstairs to have his way with me just minutes after our first kiss."

"Okay, first - Ew! _Major_ brain bleach moment." Rory said. "And second- he's had a thing for you for a long time now, and I think he's more the kind of guy who doesn't want to waste any more time once he makes up his mind."

"Well, I guess I'll just go back out there and find out." Lorelai grinned. "You have headphones? Good ones? Just in case you're right."

"You are gross." Rory said. "And I'm leaving."

"Oh, come on, we'll be quiet, I promise. We'll just go... watch tv or talk or something. Quietly."

They heard a knock at the front door, and they frowned at each other.

"It's late. Who in the world could that be?" Lorelai wondered out loud.

"Were you expecting anybody else tonight?"

"No, no one." Lorelai got up to look out the window, and suddenly looked worried. "Oh no."

Rory joined her mom at the window. "What?"

Lorelai practically sprinted out of the room. "Sorry, I have to go prevent a homicide!"

* * *

 _Since you all loved the last cliffhanger so much, I thought I'd leave you with another. Don't worry, no one is in any actual danger of being maimed or killed._

 _(I would say that no one is in any physical danger, but that would be lying. Someone's gonna get punched. The only hint I'll give you is that he deserves it.)_


End file.
